


drift compatible

by caecily



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Don't copy to another site, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 12:29:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21320218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caecily/pseuds/caecily
Summary: Tim closed his eyes, looking pained. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. “Fine. Then I’m going with you.”[A Pacific Rim AU.]
Relationships: Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Kudos: 65





	drift compatible

**Author's Note:**

> going through my notes and just posting some old fic.

“Giant fighting robots! Come on, Tim, this is gonna be awesome!”

Tim crossed his arms and glared. “Are you listening to yourself? This isn’t just a video game! This is a war, and you’re trying to sign up to fight the kaiju in one-on-one combat?” His voice was tight, shaking; Kon couldn’t think of a time he’d last seen Tim so worked up.

“Tim,” he said, rubbing a hand along Tim’s back, soothing. “Nowhere’s safe on the coasts, not until we find a way to fight these things. If this is how we can stop them, then I’m gonna help.”

Tim closed his eyes, looking pained. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. “Fine. Then I’m going with you.”

“What? No, Tim – look, just because _I’m_ an idiot doesn’t mean you need to be one, too.” It was one thing to put himself into danger; another thing entirely to imagine Tim out there, risking his life to the same monsters that killed his parents.

“They’ll need engineers for the jaegers,” Tim pointed out. “And I’m not letting you do this on your own. We’re a team, remember?”

Kon breathed out, knowing full well how stubborn Tim was when he got an idea in his head. “Teammates,” he agreed, and knocked their fists together to seal the deal.

—-

Two years later found them at Gotham Base. Kon had just passed the pilot candidacy quals, and Tim was first engineer to the newest jaeger at the base, Young Justice. Which was where Kon found him, hanging upside down to adjust bolts in the legs.

“Don’t you have assistants for this kinda thing?” Kon asked, directly behind Tim. Tim didn’t even twitch.

“If you want something done right, do it yourself,” Tim said calmly. “Ninety percent of the stress on a jaeger’s legs go through these joints. If anything’s even a millimeter misaligned…”

“Have you eaten lunch yet?” For all that Tim insisted that he’d come along to watch after Kon, he certainly didn’t watch over himself.

“In a couple hours.”

It was already one o'clock, and knowing Tim, he’d completely zone out and forget to eat at all. “Is anything gonna blow up or fall over if you take a break _now_?” Correctly interpreting Tim’s lack of a response as a “no,” Kon reached out for the buckles that kept Tim harnessed upside-down and popped him free, dropping Tim with a startled cry into Kon’s arms.

Tim scowled up at him, crossing his arms. “Really, Kon?”

“It’s lunch time. Right now,” Kon said firmly. “No more work. You wanna come willingly, or should I carry you?”

As an answer, Tim elbowed him sharply in the ribs until he was forced to let go.

They went to the mess hall and forced down the unappetizing, unidentifiable grub. Kon grabbed Tim as soon as they finished, before Tim could run off again. “Hey, could you practice with me for a bit? We’re doing more tests tomorrow, and….”

Tim hesitated for a moment. Kon could almost see him thinking about all the work left to do on Young Justice, and he felt guilty for asking. But then Tim was nodding. “Sure. Let me just send a message to the rest of my team, tell them what needs to be done next.” He tapped off a rapid-fire email without looking up as they walked to the practice halls, Kon guiding Tim around obstacles with a hand on his back.

They took up position on the mats, Tim twirling the staff experimentally in his hands.

“I’ll go easy on you, since you’re new to this,” Kon said generously.

Tim’s eyes narrowed. That was all the warning Kon got before he launched into an attack, a quick flurry of jabs that forced Kon to keep pace.

The staff was a good weapon for Tim, compensating for his smaller reach. With a little training, he could easily be deadly. Even without it, Tim was fast and inventive, and unpredictable enough that Kon had to pay attention.

“One-nothing,” Tim said, stopping his staff millimeters from Kon’s throat. A tiny smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I gave you that one for free,” Kon said airily. He decided to show off, just a little, and swept forward, catching Tim’s staff with his own and levering it out of his hands until it went flying. “One-one.”

Glowering, Tim retrieved his staff and resumed his position. “Cute trick. But it won’t work again.”

They circled around each other, looking for openings. Tim was laser-focused, intent – the kind of look he usually gave to the jaegers or a particularly tough engineering problem, and it was a little thrilling to be the center of it for once.

The feeling was just enough to distract him as Tim surged forward, knocking their staves out of the way and sweeping Kon’s legs out from underneath him. “Two-one,” Tim said, voice rich with satisfaction, and he was just too smug for Kon to let him get away with it.

With a quick twist, he hooked one leg around Tim and pulled until Tim fell, then flipped them over, pinning Tim to the mat. “Two-two,” Kon said, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

“Nice,” Tim said flatly. He was trying to glare, but his mouth kept twitching up into a smile. “Feel free to get off me any time now.”

"Nah, I’m pretty comfortable where I am. I might take a nap.“

A throat clearing to the side got his attention. He looked up, only to find Marshall Wayne watching them, inscrutable. Kon hastily rolled off Tim and stood at attention. "Uh. Sir,” he said dumbly.

“Candidate Kent. And … Engineer Drake, is it?”

Tim crossed his arms and nodded. “Yes.”

“The two of you work well together,” Wayne said evenly. “Drake. Have you ever considered becoming a jaeger pilot?”

That was clearly the last thing Tim expected to hear. He visibly startled, arms uncrossing. “Me? … No.”

“A jaeger’s performance, in my experience, is most determined by the quality of its pilots,” Wayne said. “In particular, by the bond which they share. I won’t order any unwilling person into that position, but we need as many good pilots as we can get, and we’re losing them quickly.” He raised a hand to cut Tim off as he tried to speak. “Take some time to think about it. Let me know of your decision tomorrow. Kent, report to me first thing tomorrow.”

And with that, the Marshall turned and disappeared.

“Well. That was not what I was expecting,” Tim said, rubbing his face.

“Do you – do you think you’d want to do it?” Kon asked hesitantly.

Tim’s shoulders went up and down. “Would you want me in your head?” he said.

“Tim,” Kon said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You gotta know there’s no one I’d trust more. But if you don’t want to – I’d understand.”

“I need to think about this,” Tim said after a long pause. His head was lowered, twisting away from Kon.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kon said, too brightly, and forced himself to let go.

—-

He couldn’t sleep that night, so of course he overslept the next morning. He was already half an hour late for his meeting with the Marshall, so he ran full-tilt towards the Marshall’s office, dodging startled people in the halls. Only to find that the Marshall wasn’t there, of course. Dick cheerily directed him to the Young Justice.

“Sir,” Kon said breathlessly when he finally ran up to the Marshall.

“You’re late,” Wayne said, not even looking up. “Get suited up. Your copilot’s already waiting.”

Kon stared, hope and fear mingled in his chest. “My copilot?” he echoed, when really he meant, _Tim_?

Wayne very nearly smiled. “The sooner you get suited up, the sooner you’ll see,” he advised, and Kon had never gotten into his pilot suit faster.

Tim was bent over the console, frowning at the readings. “It’s about time you woke up,” he said without turning around, and Kon grinned helplessly. Seeing Tim as his copilot relieved an enormous weight from his chest that he hadn’t even realized was there.

“Sleep is great. You should try it some time.”

“You get more than enough for both of us,” Tim retorted, turning away from the console to take up the other position at the neural interface.

Oracle’s voice crackled in over the radio. “Young Justice, signal when you’re ready to begin the neural link.”

Tim started plugging in his helmet, and Kon grabbed his hand to stop him. “Wait,” he said, heart-pounding, because he had to tell Tim the truth before Tim saw the fantasies in his brain.

“I, I’m in love with you,” Kon said in a rush, and Tim stared at him, non-comprehending for the most terrifying moment of Kon’s life.

Then Tim was moving, sliding a gauntleted hand around Kon’s neck, drawing him in for a clumsy, teeth-clashing kiss that was nonetheless perfect. They had to do this again afterwards, Kon thought dizzily, when there weren’t twenty pounds of armor preventing him from feeling the warmth of Tim’s body against his.

“Me too,” Tim whispered into his mouth, and Kon beamed and would’ve pulled him into another kiss then and there, if the radio hadn’t crackled.

“Lovebirds,” Oracle said, sounding amused. “Whenever you’re ready for the _neural_ handshake.”

… Which was about when Kon realized he hadn’t turned off his radio. Fuck.

“Ready,” Tim said hastily, pulling on his helmet. He was still a little pink, even through the visor glass.

“Ready,” Kon said moments later, thinking, _Ready for anything, if you’re with me_, and as they dropped into the drift, he could feel Tim thinking the same thing.


End file.
